WO2016/013931 relates to a device and method for eviscerating slaughtered poultry suspended by the legs, using e.g., an evisceration tool having two parts that are at their lower ends connected to each other with a rod, and which cooperates with a pre-lifting tool for lifting the gizzard prior to the actual evisceration tool passes along the breast side of the body cavity past the liver, before the evisceration tool is lifted out of the body cavity of the poultry.
EP-A-0 839 455 relates to a device for removing the viscera from the carcass of a slaughtered bird, including e.g., means for holding the carcass with its vent upward, means for gripping the gullet, the gripping including at least two jaw members which are movable towards each other to fixedly and positively clamp the gullet between them. The device can also apply a shield plate next to the jaw members to enhance the penetration of the evisceration tool into the body cavity of the bird without tissue entering too soon between the jaw members.
EP-A-0 497 014 relates to a method for eviscerating a poultry carcass and relates to an evisceration apparatus for eviscerating such a poultry carcass suspended by the legs, wherein the apparatus includes e.g., an evisceration tool which is movable up and down, and into and out of a body cavity of the poultry, and wherein the evisceration tool includes two bracket halves that connect to each other with a hinge at a lower extremity of the tool to enable a rotational movement of the two bracket halves around the hinge, wherein the two bracket halves are embodied with cooperating clamping faces adjacent to and above the hinge for clamping a part of the viscera of the poultry when the two bracket halves are moved towards each other by a rotational movement around the hinge from an open position wherein the clamping faces are distant from each other into a closed position wherein the clamping faces are moved towards each other.
In an exemplary method that is indicated in EP-A-0 497 014, the evisceration tool is introduced in its open position into the body cavity of the poultry until it reaches a lowermost position in the body cavity of the poultry; whereafter the two bracket halves are moved towards each other from the open position into a closed position therewith breaking tissue connections of the viscera with the remainder of the poultry carcass so that eventually a part of the viscera of the poultry, notably the gullet, is clamped. After that the two bracket halves are moved in their closed position out of the body cavity of the poultry carcass together with the clamped viscera. WO01/52658 indicates in a particular embodiment shown in its FIGS. 9-11 the application of two substantially U-shaped strips, which can pivot with respect to one another and are coupled via a double pivot at their front end. These U-shaped strips are used as scraping member to separate abdominal fat from abdominal skin of poultry and have as such nothing to do with the present inventive subject matter of removing an entrails package from a body cavity of a bird suspended by the legs. It is further remarked that the two substantially U-shaped strips form a scraping member that cooperates with a support in the form of a flat plate, and that the scraping member is for that purpose moved upwards along the support for the purpose of scraping the abdominal fat off the abdominal skin. The scraping member and the flat plate do therefore not carry out a simultaneous and synchronous movement into or out of the poultry body cavity as embodiments of the present invention prescribe.
Accordingly, in one exemplary aspect, it is an object of the invention to improve the known methods and apparatuses and realize advantages in comparison with such that will become apparent from the following disclosure.